Process of reducing nickel hydrosilicate ores.



. cate Ores, of whichthe ollowing is a speci- I UNITED STATES PATENT "curios.

.alnonrnn CHALAS, or PHILADELPHIA, r'sNNsY' vAinAf rnocnss or REDUCING- NICKEL HYnRosILIeA'rE cans.

Ito-Drawing.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, AnoLPHn CHALAs, a citizen of the Republic of France, residing at Philadelphia, inlthe county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Processes of Reducin Nickel Hydrosilificationi- The lnventlon 1s a process of reducing s1l=1c1ous nickel ore's, such as garnierite, which contains nickel as ahydrosilicate togetherwith a large proportion of magnesia. The other reducible metals contained in" such ores are iron anda very small proportion of cobalt, manganese and chromium, while the other refractory gangue' materials, besidesgnesla, are very small proporsilica and ma tions of alumina and lime. The hydrosilicate ores are characterized by their high combined-water contents, averaging about ten per cent. by weight. They very easily absorb water, being of a clayey texture, and always retain a large amount of hygroscopic water, averaging over twenty per .cent. by wei ht.

T e present process essentially comprises three steps, to wit :-.first the briqueting of a mixture of the specified nickel ores, serving as a binding material, with fine ores of high iron contents, such as magnetite sandsand the lumps therein are crushed into fine dust. In the first stage-of the process, the finely-divided 'ore is preferably mixed with a a small proportion of-hydraulic lime, which,

uniting with the hygroscopic water contained in the ore, greatly increases the bind- 1 ing properties of the ore and furthermore has an lmportant action on the-scorification of the charge in the furnace, The fine iron ore to be briqueted is also added and mixed, in the right proportion as toobtain the re- Specification of Letters Patent.

' 'quired amount of nickel the pig-iron Patentedluiay 31', 1910. Application filed September 20, 1909. Serial No; 518,68. 3

product, taking into consideration the iron contents of the nickel ore as well as the possible nickel contents or the iron ore,*if for instance roasted nickeliterous pyrite residues are used. 7, The mixture. is briquet'ed by simple-pressure.

In the second stage of the process, the

briquets are charged into a blast furnace,

together with the necessary. quantity of limestone to insure a basic -run and thus avoid the absorption of sulfui ifrom the coke by the reduced nickel-.- In erder'to modify the composition of the stag (ifnickeliferous alloy, suitable additions/of fluxes and ores may be made. For example manganese ore may be added to-thefurnafci'e' charge, to secure the better elimination fofsulfun. During reduction, the vaporization of the large quantity of hygroscopic water retained by the nickel ore, in the upper-part of the furnace, permits a very' hot and rapid run of the furnace without any risk of the zone of fusion rising above its normal level.. The dissociation of the combined water from the hydrosilicate of nickel and magnesia, which takes place lower down, gives to the mass a .particularly porous texture, .very favorable to the access of the reducing gases. It is very important that reduction should'precede scorification. The admixed lime com bines with the silica to give a basic slag of relatively high melting point. The hydro- ;silicatein the ore, to soften at a comparatively low temperature, would otherwise fill the pores ofthe briqueted mass and hinder reduction. When the materials reach the fusion zone, Stratification of the molten nickeliferous pig-iron and slag takes place in the ordinary way, provided the percentage of magnes1a in the slag does not render it too viscous. In the latter case, which occurs wheneverthe propgrtion of nickel ore in the mixture has to raised in order to increase the nickel contents of the alloy, the basic and highlfi" magnesian slag carries away some meta ic granules which have to be recovered'on accountof their nickel con 'tents.

of the process consists in chilling the mo ten slag by running it mto water, it, and passing it with water through -a'. magnetic separator, by which practically every parti e of nickel-iron alloy is recovered. The residual slag contains practically no nickel,:owing to the lack of aflinity of this metal for anhydrous silica, and to the fact that the iron, being more oxidizable than nickel, protects the latter from oxidation and scorification.

The niekeliferous pig-iron produced by this process. contains very little sulfur, phosphorus and silicon. It is treated in the ordinary way, 2'. 6., in the converter, openhearth or electric furnace, for further desulfurization and dephosphorization, if desired, as Well as for the removal of carbon, silicon, manganese and chromium, all of which are more oxidizable than the remaining nickel, cobalt and iron.

additions of deoxidizing or other metals or allo s are made to give the desired final pro not.

I claim 1. The process of reducing nickel hydrosilicate ores, which consists 1n briqueting a mixture of said ore, serving as a binding material, and finely-divided iron ore, and smelting the briquets with production of nickeliferous pig-iron. I

2. The process of reducing nickel hydrosilicate ores, which consists 1n briqueting a mixture of said ore, serving as a binding material, and finely-divided iron ore, and

Any suitable smelting a charge of the briquets, fuel and limestone, with production of a basic sla and nickeliferous pig-iron low in sulfur an phosphorus.

3. The process of reducing nickel hydrosilicate ores, which consists in briquetmg a mixture of said ore, serving as a binding material, and finely-divided iron ore, smelting a charge of the briquets, fuel and limestone, with production of a basic slag and nickeliferous pig-iron low in sulfur and phosphorus, separating the major portion of the ig-iron from the slag by gravitation, chilling. the molten slag with water, crushing it, and magnetically separating the nickel-iron granules therefrom.

4:. The process of reducing nickel hydrosilicate ores, which consists in briqueting a mixture ofsaid ore, hydraulic llme, and finely-divided iron ore, and smeltin the briquets with production of nickeli erous pig-iron.

In testimony whereof, I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ADOLPHE CHALAS. Witnesses H. F. LAVINOY, J. W. HALE. 

